At the Lingang Center in Shanghai, the world’s leading minds in intelligent engineering gathered to exchange ideas and envision the transformation of the global industrial system.
On the afternoon of October 24 2025, the International Conference on Intelligent Engineering, a satellite event of the World Laureates Forum (WLF), was successfully held at the Lingang Center. Co-organized by the Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Innovation Development Foundation and Tongji University, this high-level international conference convened top scholars and industry leaders from around the world to explore innovative applications of artificial intelligence in engineering and the mechanisms driving its conversion into new quality productive forces.
Engineering Intelligence Reshaping the Future
In his opening address, Zheng Qinghua, Secretary of the Party Committee of Tongji University and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, emphasized that humanity is now entering an era of transformation driven by artificial intelligence.
He noted that intelligent engineering, an emerging interdisciplinary field born from the convergence of engineering and frontier AI technologies, has become a strategic high ground for technological innovation.
Zheng highlighted that this field is profoundly reshaping the design and construction of smart cities, the intelligent upgrading of manufacturing, and the future pathways of sustainable development.
Showcasing Key Achievements in Intelligent Engineering
With the full support of its organizers, the conference unveiled several milestone achievements that will steer the course of future research and practice in intelligent engineering.
The world’s first White Paper on Intelligent Engineering was officially released, proposing a forward-looking technological framework centered on the concept of an “Intelligent Engineering Operating System.”
The white paper aims to address fragmentation across the field and promote scalable empowerment in engineering intelligence.
This achievement provides both strategic guidance and systematic solutions for the sustainable development of the discipline.
During the conference, Tongji University also launched a global initiative to establish the International Alliance for Intelligent Engineering. The alliance seeks to build an open, collaborative, and co-creative international community in the engineering domain, fostering a paradigm shift across industries.
The initiative aligns closely with the Lingang Special Area’s policy direction of supporting technology-driven innovation platforms.
In addition, the conference announced the upcoming International Competition on Intelligent Engineering, which will feature both competition and innovation tracks open to enterprises, universities, research institutions, innovation teams, and individual developers worldwide.
Laying the Academic Foundation for Intelligent Engineering
The depth of this conference is rooted in Tongji University’s long-standing strengths and forward-thinking strategy in intelligent engineering. A major step in this endeavor was the establishment of the Institute of AI for Engineering (IAIE) in May 2025.
The IAIE leverages Tongji’s strong disciplinary clusters in civil engineering, architecture, transportation, and mechanical engineering, and operates under the mission of “Innovating intelligent technologies for engineering, transforming the evolution of engineering disciplines, and creating new quality productive forces.” Unlike a traditional research institute, IAIE integrates education, research, and talent cultivation through institutional innovation, aiming to build an intelligence-driven research platform that unites academia and industry.
This platform is designed to provide a solid academic foundation and talent pipeline for the intelligent transformation and paradigm shift of the global engineering sector.
Looking ahead, the Shanghai Lingang Science and Technology Innovation Development Foundation will continue serving as a bridge that connects global innovation with Lingang’s industrial needs. It will keep fostering collaboration and driving Shanghai’s growth as a world-class center of science and technology.
Source: Shanghai Lingang and Tongji University
